(The Fun Star) Virgin Records have announced a May 17th release date for Ben Harper's 10th studio album, Give Till It's Gone. Harper will headline a trio of festivals this spring: Bluesfest in Australia, GrassRoots, the New Zealand Blues & Roots All Music Festival, and the Wakarusa Festival in Ozark, AR.
Harper will also be performing at Lollapalooza Chile and headlining several French festivals.
Harper recorded most of Give Till It's Gone - his first solo record since 2006's Both Sides of the Gun - at the Los Angeles studio of Jackson Browne, who harmonizes with himon the wistful "Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn." The album also features two tracks co-written withRingo Starr - the exuberant, psychedelic-tinged "Spilling Faith" and "Get There From Here," an improvisational instrumental. Starr, who also plays drums on the songs, tapped Harper for his 2010 album, Y Not.
"I've never made a record that was such a timeline," says Harper. "It's a real extension of the last year and half in my life, and all these sounds are inspired by my experiences. It's as honest a musical statement as I could make."
With Give Till It's Gone, Harper examines the disparity between the man he is today and the man he endeavors to become. Reaching deep within, he discovers there are no easy answers, but implores us to go the distance with him on this journey in the moving album opener, "Don't Give Up On Me Now." While its songs are highly personal, Give Till It's Gone illuminates the universal struggle to find meaning and fully engage with life and one another. We may pass through a dark night of the soul, but giving up is not a viable option, as Harper reminds us with certainty in the transcendent "I Will Not Be Broken."
The track listing for Give Till It's Gone is as follows:
1. Don't Give Up On Me Now
2. I Will Not Be Broken
3. Rock N' Roll Is Free
4. Feel Love
5. Clearly Severely
6. Spilling Faith
7. Get There From Here
8. Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn
9. Waiting On A Sign
10. Dirty Little Lover
11. Do It For You, Do It For Us
Ben Harper - Upcoming Tour Dates
4/2 Santiago, Chile Lollapalooza Chile
4/21 Byron Bay, NSW Australia Bluesfest
4/22 Byron Bay, NSW Australia Bluesfest
4/23 Manukau, New Zealand GrassRoots
6/4 Ozark, AR Wakarusa Festival
6/5 Kansas City, MO Crossroads
6/6 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
7/16 Aix Les Bains, France Musilac Festival
7/22 Nimes, France Les Roman Arenes/Festival de Nimes
7/25 St. Malo Du Bois Poupet Festival
Additional dates will be announced shortly.